“Worldreader worldreader.org, the nonprofit aiming to end illiteracy by providing digital books to children and families throughout the developing world, today announced a new grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to test what could be a long-term sustainable way to give access to digital books to millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. The pilot will provide eight libraries in Kenya with 250 e-readers fully equipped with protective cases providing their library patrons with instantaneous access to an immediate supply of 50,000 fiction, non-fiction, genre, reference books, storybooks, plus a complete set of Kenyan digital textbooks suitable for patrons of all ages. Worldreader’s previous work to reduce the cost and complexity of using e-readers makes the device a compelling, cost-effective and efficient alternative to distributing paper-based books in sub-Saharan Africa. E-readers, with their long battery life, decreasing price, and ability to download digital books in less than 60 seconds using 3G technology, have proven effective in Worldreader’s programs and are already used by 12,000 children, teachers, and their families in Worldreader’s school and library programs in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania.” (via Digital Book World)